1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuits (IC), and more particularly, to isolation structures in semiconductor integrated circuits.
2. Related Art
Typical isolation structures such as STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) structures, field oxide regions, etc., are used in a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) to electrically isolate different devices (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.) formed on a same semiconductor substrate. The fabrication of such typical isolation structures involve multiple fabrication steps which can substantially add to the fabrication cost of the IC.
Therefore, there is a need for a novel isolation structure (and the method of forming the same) that requires simpler and fewer fabrication steps than that of the prior art.